Rookie guard RJ Barrett had the New York Knicks in good shape heading into the fourth quarter, filling up the box score to try and earn his team a hard-fought road win.
Chicago Bulls' rookie guard Coby White had other plans – spoiling his draft mate's well-balanced performance with a fourth quarter explosion.
The Bulls eruputed for 35 points in the final quarter, holding the Knicks to just 17 points in the frame, to come away with a 120-102 victory.
Take a look at how these two promising rookie guards fared in their matchup...
R.J. Barrett
Get up young fella ‼️👀 pic.twitter.com/vk02JVGBnQ
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) November 13, 2019
The Knicks' rookie had a stellar performance – arguably the most productive outing of his career.
Barrett was doing a little bit of everything for the Knicks in this one, running their offence and scoring efficiently on his way to a team-best +/- of plus-7.
Barrett finished the game with 21 points and a career-high nine assists to go with six rebounds and two steals. He shot 8-for-16 from the field and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc, but his free throw shooting continues to be a concern.
Barrett went 3-for-6 from the charity stripe, which actually brings up his free throw percentage to an ugly 46.9%.
He's improving as a playmaker which is an encouraging sign and this was the most efficient-scoring game Barrett has had since his first game of the season, but he's struggles at the free throw line are hindering his offensive ceiling early in his rookie season.
He's doing a good job of getting to the line, averaging over six free throw attempts per game, but hasn't been able to cash in on those opportunites.
Coby White
The Bulls scored 35 points in the fourth quarter and Coby White scored 23 of those 35 points.
The No. 7 overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft destroyed the Knicks from the 3-point line in the final frame, dropping seven 3s to win the game for Chicago. His seven 3-pointers in a quarter are the most by a rookie in NBA history!
🔥 @CobyWhite becomes the first rookie in @NBAHistory to sink 7 threes in a quarter! @chicagobulls x #NBARooks pic.twitter.com/dwwRBa8K5G
— NBA (@NBA) November 13, 2019
White finished the game with a game-high 27 points off the bench. He went 8-for-14 from the field and 7-for-11 from beyond the arc to go with three rebounds and an assist.
This wasn't White's first big outing, but he's struggled to consistently make an impact early on in his rookie campaign. He scored 25 points in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies earlier in the season and this was his fourth-consecutive game scoring in double figures, but the five games prior to that he failed to reach the 10-point mark.
Regardless, this fourth quarter performance was something special from the rookie and it's great momentum for him and the Bulls to build off of.
